SECTOR: Cement Products

Ramco Industries

Established in 1967, Ramco Industries Ltd is part of the $1 billion Ramco Group which has interests in cement, drywall and ceiling products, roofing products, cotton yarn, surgical cotton and computer software. With 12 plants across South Asia and an 8,000-strong partner network, Ramco Industries is one of the leading building materials companies in South Asia, manufacturing fibre cement roofing sheets, fibre cement boards and calcium silicate boards. The company strives to pioneer modular green dry construction technology in India with its wide range of products. Prem Shanker, CEO, Ramco Industries Ltd, shares more….

Strategies to overcome COVID-19 and other challenges in FY2020-21: We first ensured all employees adopt COVID safe working practices so that our workforce was always ready to face the new challenge. We adopted the latest platforms in virtual conferencing and electronic workflow to ensure that the regular routine was maintained without disruption. Frontline sales officers were provided with real-time sales data on their mobiles, which reduced the necessity to make dealer visits. Whenever there was a lockdown that prevented regular production and transport, we undertook intensive preventive maintenance of our plants and upgrade of equipment wherever possible. All migrant workmen were provided free boarding and lodging and special incentives were given to retain them at the plants, as a result of which almost none left the company.

Major contributor to growth in FY2020-21: We completely revamped our computer hardware and software systems to enable all employees work with real-time data even with their mobiles, so that operations were resumed quickly and with better impact than before. Remote monitoring of plant production parameters reduced the necessity of senior managers to travel to factories.

Decision that helped maintain top-line and bottom-line: During the slowdown, we invested in increasing capacity in a few select plants, which helped us improve volumes when the markets reopened. Also intensive replacement of inefficient equipment and completing all pending repair works helped us restart plants quickly and with better production capacity.

Plans for growth in FY2021-22 and beyond: We will continue to invest in technologies that will enable employees to work anywhere, either with their personal computer or a smartphone. We have set a target of 100 per cent vaccination for all our employees by the end of September 2021 in all our plants and offices, in addition to vigorously implementing COVID safe operating procedures at all locations. And, we are aggressively expanding production capacity as we are confident that the economy will come to near normal by the middle of 2022.